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“Oklahoma Rep. David Derby, R-Owasso, said in a statement that the news shocked him. “I’m just absolutely floored. The allegations against this dentist are beyond the pale,” he said. “He has been seeing thousands of Oklahomans for decades and has been violating his patients’ trust. Now we have a situation on our hands where countless people might have contracted a sexually-transmitted disease just because they wanted to get a teeth cleaning or a cavity filled.”

— Tulsa World March 29, 2013

Dr. Harrington is an oral surgeon and as a specialist in oral surgery by law — the Oklahoma State Dental Practice Act — cannot do a “cleaning” or “fill a cavity.” An oral surgeon as a declared specialist has relinquished the right to do these procedures that were learned in general dental training in dental school and, as such, oral surgeons don’t perform these procedures — these are routinely done by general/family dentists. If, indeed, the individual in question contracted HIV/hepatitis during an oral surgery procedure in Dr. Harrington’s office, it almost certainly did not involve “a teeth cleaning or a cavity filled” procedure as trumpeted by Mr. Derby.

We are now being told that it has been misreported that this person is HIV positive and that the individual does not have this virus. Uhhh, that’s been a pretty important part of this story thus far. How could that happen? How can something as important as this be falsely and publicly released? And why has the recantation been nothing more than a mere afterthought? This would seem to cast a shadow of doubt on at least some aspects of this narrative. Will we later learn that other dispatches that were reported as gospel prove to be otherwise? And most importantly, was this person actually exposed to hepatitis in Dr. Harrington’s office? Considering the inaccuracy and omissions in patient medical histories and risk factor questionnaires, we may never know with certainty the answer to this question.

Dentistry has an enviable record of public safety. The good news is that hepatitis B transmission in the dental office is extremely rare. The Centers for Disease Control report there have been no reported transmissions from a dental worker to a patient since 1987 and only one incident of a patient-to-patient transmission in a dental setting and that occurred in 2001. According to the Oklahoma State Department of Health website, hepatitis C transmission has not been documented in the dental setting. The patient is reported to be positive for hepatitis C — are we witnessing medical history being made? Maybe. There are many questions which remain to be answered and this investigation is in its earliest stage and will be on going for some time to come.

Everyone right now is in a heightened state of alert, people are on edge and sensitivities are raw amid much speculation — misinformation by Congressman Derby or anyone else including a frenzied media is not helpful. Oklahomans don’t need another reason not to see their dentist — they’ve never been safer than right now.